History
As native salmon runs on the Lower Columbia River diminished, the community looked for a way to bolster the fishing industry, a backbone of the region's economy for generations of families. In 1976 a group of local business leaders led by retired legislator Ted Bugas and Professor Emeritus Duncan Law of Oregon State University created the Clatsop Economic Development Council (CEDC) Fisheries Project, a collaborative effort by the fishing industry and local, state, and federal agencies.
Youngs Bay was chosen for the project because there was an existing fishery that could be enhanced. The location of the bay, off the Columbia River, reduces straying and interference with endangered native stocks.
The project's success in Youngs Bay led to the expansion into other "select" areas on the Oregon and Washington sides of the Lower Columbia. In 1993, the Select Area Fishery Evaluation program, or SAFE, was started to investigate opportunities in the lower Columbia to raise fish in net-pens and release the fish. These pens can be placed in specific or "select" areas where sport and commercial fishing can occur while still protecting mainstem Columbia threatened or endangered stocks. The SAFE program's goal is to maximize production at all select sites to benefit the economy.
Production
1977
First year of release: 50,000 coho
2011
2.03 million coho
957,000 spring chinook
1.4 million select area bright fall chinook